Come on people, it's the Mouse!

I love magazines. I just do. Realpolitik husband mocks my reading and subscription of magazines, but I just like them. The two that I probably couldn't live without are Vanity Fair and People magazine. Ok, huge spectrum on the scale of magazine reading but I've got People to keep me in the loop with the latest celebrity gossip and Vanity Fair for the extra long articles on everything and anything. So, this week when many of my new SAHM friends are wondering who Miley Ray Cyrus is, and what is the big deal over these Vanity Fair pictures, I've got the inside track.

Here is my take on this whole situation. From everything that I've read and seen, it appears to me that The Mouse, aka Disney, was very unhappy with what photos Vanity Fair chose to place in their magazine and turned the screws on Miley to put out this statement after initially she had stated that the photos were natural and very artsy. Why all of a sudden the change of heart Miley? Seems like the Mouse is very unhappy with your photos, which don't conform to the squeaky clean image that you and the rest of the Disney employees are supposed to exude both personally and professionally - except for Jamie Lynn Spears.

So first there is the controversy over these pictures and what exactly Miley thinks about the pictures. Then there now is the controversy over what parents of Miley fans think of these pictures. First off, these people need to get a grip! Vanity Fair is an adult magazine! AN ADULT magazine, not Playboy, Hustler adult, but a over-18-years-old-to-understand-it magazine. What pre-teen girl will be going out and purchasing Vanity Fair? If you don't like the pictures and what you think your child assume from those pictures then don't buy the magazine or if you have a subscription keep it out of the hands of your daughter. If you are so concerned, then have a conversation with your kid, BE A PARENT! We all know what kind of pictures Annie Leibovitz takes, remember a naked, pregnant Demi Moore and the controversy over those photos. I think there are 15 year old models that have taken similar pictures but haven't gotten as much flack. I am chalking this all up to the Mouse.

The Best Poll of the Campaign - so far

Yet again I've been out of commission the past week or so due to some family obligations, but I am hoping that after Sunday - Orthodox Easter- I'll have a little more time on my hands to get back to the 2 a week blogging. But in the meantime, this morning I came across the best and maybe what I thought was the craziest polls so far.

Tomorrow is the big Pennsylvania Democratic primary. This is it people, this should (hopefully) tell who the heir apparent will be! So with all this attention on Pennsylvania and deciphering who will win the primary before people in the state go to their polling places, MSNBC/McClatchy/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has done a recent poll to see exactly which way the tide is turning. This poll is a lot like the rest, but what gave me a really good laugh this morning were some of the specific demographics that were polled, specifically Hunters. Gun Owners, Beer drinkers and Bowlers. I am still a little baffled if I am more amused by the the stereotyping of Pennsylvania voters or is it just that I am amused that we've come to this. I guess if the candidates show up at any place, there will now be a poll on that! How about waffle eaters? Pittsburgh Pirate or Steeler fans? I'll admit it was 6am when I flipped on the news and heard about this poll while not firing on all my caffeinated cylinders. But this did give me a good laugh, while the rest of me was not happy to be up so early.

My name? Oakley, Annie Oakley

A very good friend of mine and I went to a baseball game last night, and in between a few beers, hot dogs and getting, hmmm let's say berated by a gentleman in front of us, we discussed everything under the sun. But that is what you do at games, watch a few home runs, talk, eat, etc.

So in our discussions we got on the topic of Hillary Clinton's newest comments and one of the biggest burns ever given during a Presidential campaign. Take it from a girl who once won the Annie Oakley award at YMCA camp in the summer of 1985; I don't claim to be pro gun, especially with all that has happened in my fine city the past several weeks, but here is another example of the Clinton campaign's "bringing it to streets" attitude. Just face it, Hillary isn't as charismatic as her husband and she is not coming off as sincere either. So maybe she does remember the days of her father taking her behind the cottage that her grandfather built to learn to shoot. But I am not sure you want to use the words "cottage". Personally, I think her word selection actually made things worse, and it shows how so not working class Hillary Clinton is. Can the people she is speaking to in Pennsylvania relate to having a cottage? Come on now!

Shame on me!

Ok, ok, I know I've totally slacked the last week or so. I think I was so excited to have Realpolitik husband home for a week straight without having to go away for work that I got all out of sync with my blogging, laundry, baby duties, etc. So let this be my virtual slap on the wrist.

On several occasions, I have started to blog about a particular topic but didn't do so because I wasn't sure how to bring up the issue without adding more flame to a now smoldering fire, but in the past couple of weeks much has been discussed in my personal conversations as well as in the blogosphere about the unconscious discrimination of religion and religious holidays that I need to put in my two cents.

It all started with a discussion with Realpolitik husband regarding one of the groups he tours on the lecture circuit (he is an entertainment agent that tours almost anything around the country). One of the the individuals within this team, has requested that there are not any lectures scheduled on any of the Jewish holidays, as she does not want to discriminate against these individuals by not given them the opportunity to see the lecture. So I asked my husband, "Does that mean that they also don't schedule any lectures between sunup and sundown for the month of Ramadan?" His answer, "No, but she just wants to make sure none of the Jewish participants are discriminated against, since she is Jewish." Ok good point but aren't you discriminating towards other who may want to attend and cannot do so because of their religious holidays?

Then through the month of March there was some serious uproar over several companies inviting mommy bloggers to attend their events that fell over Passover. I have to agree with these moms who were appalled by the fact that these companies/PR people didn't look at a calendar to realize that maybe it wasn't a good time to schedule an event and expect good attendance. I know that those companies apologized up and down and from what I have read everyone was happy with the apology. I just hope that other religions and holidays get the same consideration.

Maybe I am a little sensitive this days as Eastern Orthodox Easter is not for another 3 weeks, (and I am craving a patty melt) but people still ask me how my Easter was and have tried schedule things during my Easter weekend. (oh, it's not a one day only experience for us Orthodox- try at the minimum three days!) While in this case Eastern Orthodox, specifically Greek Orthodox, make up only 1.5 million people in the United States and pales in comparison to the population of other religions, I just hope the same consideration is given to everyone.